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Call for Code Global Challenge Addresses COVID-19 and Climate Change

By Dian Schaffhauser

04/09/20

COVID-19 is part of this year's Call for Code Global Challenge, run by the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) and IBM. The challenge is a global program to entice students, developers and other problem solvers with both technical and non-technical backgrounds to create practical applications that use cloud, data and artificial intelligence and can make an "immediate and lasting impact on humanitarian issues." CGI U is a higher education program of the Clinton Foundation, which focuses on developing future leaders.

Kick-off is April 22, 2020 for a "university edition" of the challenge. This year, the initiative has expanded to two tracks, one addressing the world's reaction to the COVID-19 public health crisis; the other addressing climate change.

Program organizers are holding a virtual event between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern time and between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern time. That will take place on Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or IBM Watson Media. (Participants will get live links once they've registered.)

Registered students will be connected virtually to a group of peers from around the world who also wish to build something "concrete, sustainable and thought-provoking." The two organizations will bring in expert speakers and industry professionals to mentor students as they develop their ideas. Final projects must be submitted by July 31.

Dian Schaffhauser is a senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @schaffhauser.